Chapter 11 — E-Rank Labyrinth: Fire Ant Nest (3)
Chapter 11 — E-Rank Labyrinth: Fire Ant Nest (3)
Despite my remark about being weak to spicy food, our Evil God remained silent.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to prepare another offering. Since Lidni seems to have a delicate tongue that can’t handle spicy things….”
Just as I muttered this and pretended to examine another corpse, my right eye turned into a blind crow and leapt out.
Immediately afterward, the voice of the wisest Evil God thundered violently in my mind.
【Do I look like a pathetic divinity incapable of swallowing mere lukewarm flames?! I simply failed to respond because I was briefly occupied with something else!】
Glossary - The Evil God, Your M…
Crunch, crunch!
【Delicious. The burning sensation on my tongue is quite impressive!】
Lidni absolutely was not weak to spicy food.
【Especially the sparks bursting with each bite—hss, haaah—such delightful sensations!】
The divine message occasionally contained strange interjections like “hss” and “haaah,” but those were merely unusual expressions of admiration.
Surely the Forerunner of the Twisted Truth would never lose control of their tongue due to spicy food like some frail human.
“You like it that much?”
I nodded with satisfaction.
“If the Wise One is pleased, then I am pleased as well. I harvested plenty of Fire Glands from the Fire Ants this time, so I will prepare it again next time.”
【…….】
For some reason, our Evil God remained silent for quite a while.
“Lord Lidni?”
【Ahem. My child, devouring knowledge too quickly dulls the mind. A traveler walking the path toward truth must learn restraint!】
—Caw!
The blind crow, which had been eating, suddenly cried out loudly and began glancing around nervously.
Looking closer, it had eaten only part of the upper body of the offering, while the heavily garnished Fire Glands had been pushed aside with the lower half.
“Why is it acting like that? Surely Lord Lidni did not order its proxy to stop eating because the flames were too hot.”
【It seems the body is not in good condition today.】
“I see. I almost made the greatest divinity appear like a child throwing a tantrum because it disliked spicy offerings.”
【Wait a moment—now that I think about it, you’re mocking me! Honestly, cultists these days—】
Drip.
As Lidni shouted in anger, blood suddenly flowed from my left eye and nose.
A side effect that occurred whenever the Evil God’s voice became too loud.
“Kar!”
Marlin rushed over in alarm and wiped the blood from my face.
I accepted the careful touch of her hands, now slightly more delicate after her Dexterity increase, while staring into the air.
【…Half-elves really are fragile.】
The culprit who caused the bleeding lowered the volume of the oracle to a whisper.
【Tch. I dislike this. In the old days, my followers listened quietly even when their eyes burst and blood poured from their mouths just to hear a little more of my voice. Don’t whine like a child over a little blood.】
When conversing with Lidni, the most important thing was pacing.
It was easier if you imagined speaking not to a deity to be worshipped, but to an elderly person reminiscing about the past.
The correct answers were already memorized, but this situation was different from the game where you simply selected predetermined dialogue choices.
“I understand completely. Anyone who lives as a cultist must experience at least once the pain of their eyes shattering and their head splitting under an Evil God’s rebuke.”
【Now that sounds reasonable! Kar, you may be quite bold, but you are certainly different from the other novice cultists.】
Drawing upon the acting skills I had developed while dealing with a tyrannical manager at my old company, I continued.
【Your knowledge is strangely vast, and you use newly acquired Mysteries as if you have practiced them for years… now that I think about it, you are suspicious. You’re not a monitoring priest sent by the good gods, are you?】
“No. Lord Lidni has so few followers that there would be no reason to monitor them.”
The power of a deity grew with the number of believers. If no believers remained, the deity would perish.
Most surviving Evil Gods had fewer than a hundred followers left.
Frankly speaking, their danger level was not much different from chickens—descendants of once-mighty dinosaurs that were now consumed as food.
Still, they were at least like fighting cocks, so they could not be completely ignored.
【…In any case, I will continue watching you personally. Do not disappoint me.】
The blind crow wandering near my feet returned to my right eye socket.
【Continuing this conversation will burden you too much. I must withdraw. What reward do you desire for this offering?】
“Please grant a Mystery to your lost traveler who has yet to approach even the outskirts of truth.”
【Speak the name of the magic you desire, my child.】
“I request [Membrane That Defers Wounds].”
【The divine power from this offering is insufficient, but I will grant it specially. You seem destined for greatness.】
Crackle.
With a brief sting of pain, a tattoo shaped like an eyeball appeared on the ring finger of my right hand.
“Thank you.”
【Next time, prepare a true delicacy!】
With one final complaint about side dishes, the Evil God’s presence vanished from my mind.
Only then did Marlin relax her stiff expression.
“Now that I’ve experienced it twice, I think I understand the difference between when the Evil God descends upon you and when you’re normal.”
“That’s impressive. It’s not easy to notice that just by intuition.”
That was exactly why I had chosen her as my first explorer to train.
Her younger brother Abel had potential as well, but Marlin’s foundation was far better.
“Is there anything else to do?”
“We’re leaving now.”
I returned the bloodstained dagger to Marlin and left the garbage dump.
—Grrr!
A large group of Fire Ants had gathered near the entrance.
Marlin quickly sliced them apart, but more soon rushed in to replace them.
“Ah! There are too many!”
Despite complaining, the novice thief cut down every Fire Ant with her dagger and spider-thread spears.
When she began harvesting Magic Stones and Fire Glands again, I stopped her.
“Tired? Shall we leave?”
“I’m not that tired. But do explorers usually fight this much?”
“Normally thieves don’t fight monsters on the front line.”
“Then why am I…?”
“Because you aren’t an ordinary thief, Marlin. You’re a thief personally sponsored by me.”
Marlin tilted her head.
“But you’re only a Level 1 explorer too, Kar.”
“That’s no way to speak to your sponsor.”
While talking, I examined the map.
Our current location was the lower-right section of the ant nest.
The place we needed to reach for the real strategy was near the center.
Using a shortcut, it would take about ten minutes.
I patted Marlin’s shoulder.
“Let’s walk a bit faster now.”
“Why?”
“Do you want the long explanation or the short one?”
“The short one.”
“If we don’t speed up, we’ll be torn apart and die miserably when a swarm of Fire Ants catches us.”
“…The long one.”
“Fire Ants have lost their eyesight but communicate through fire.”
According to research by monster experts, the flames produced by their Fire Glands appeared identical to human eyes, but contained enormous information.
Normally, they used those flames to signal the appearance of enemies threatening the colony.
“Soon the signal flames from the Fire Ants we killed will spread through the nest. Then countless ants will come to eliminate us.”
“…How many?”
“At least a thousand.”
A force impossible for a low-level cultist and thief to handle.
Marlin’s ears stood straight up.
“That’s way too dangerous! I thought this labyrinth had low difficulty!”
“It does.”
“Then why are a thousand Fire Ants chasing us?!”
“In difficult labyrinths, a single monster can be stronger than an entire swarm of Fire Ants. Compared to that, a labyrinth filled with Level 1 monsters is basically a playground.”
“….”
The labyrinth environment was never favorable to explorers.
It was a fundamental rule.
“Well, maybe playground isn’t the right word. Perhaps a back alley near an academy full of delinquent students would make you feel better.”
“That’s enough!”
My young assistant slapped my arm with her tail and hurried forward.
“Which direction do we go?!”
“That way.”
“Okay! Hurry!”
While taking shortcuts, Marlin cut down any Fire Ants that appeared.
But her movements gradually slowed.
“Save your strength. If you collapse now, we’re finished.”
“But they keep coming…”
“Go ahead first. This way.”
I showed her the destination on the map and sent her ahead while examining the terrain.
Seeing it in reality instead of game graphics made it harder to recognize—but not impossible.
Almost there.
Near the center of the Fire Ant Nest.
I produced several extremely thin spider threads and stretched them vertically between the floor and ceiling like bars.
—Grrr!
The ants rushed forward.
Because they had no eyesight, they couldn’t avoid the trap.
Just like that.
Slice.
The head of the first ant was cleanly cut in half.
Four more followed before the signal from the burning eye sockets caused the swarm to halt.
Web That Binds All Things was weak to fire, so it couldn’t hold them forever.
But extermination wasn’t my goal.
I continued moving forward while laying identical traps behind me.
—Grrr…
—Grrrk!
The pitiful cries of Fire Ants echoed constantly.
Their corpses would clog the tunnels and slow the pursuing swarm.
Because alternate paths required large detours, the more ants died, the slower the pursuit became.
“Kar!”
Marlin stood waiting in the middle of the corridor.
Exactly where I had told her to stop.
“Now what? This is just the middle of the ant nest!”
“That’s correct.”
It had taken me some time to find it.
Who would expect a Hidden Piece to be concealed in a completely ordinary section of the tunnel?
I handed Marlin the pickaxe from her back and pointed at the left wall.
“Break through here. A new passage will appear.”